Nevomo's magnetic rail booster set to be installed in India

Nevomo plans to install its Magrail Booster technology in the bogies under freight cars and now has its first route for that. To be more exact, Nevomo has signed a corresponding memorandum of understanding with DP World and the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA). This is a preliminary step before signing the contract, but it’s still a success for Nevomo, even though some uncertainties remain. At the same time, DP and DPA have secured early access once the technology is ready for market. It is unclear whether any money has changed hands, but DP World is known for such investments.

At Expo 2020 in Dubai, the company presented its freight transport plans for the Hyperloop in detail. As is well known, nothing came of these plans and Virgin’s Hyperloop is history.

With Nevomo’s Magrail Booster, DP World is once again turning to magnetic levitation technology, though it’s less complex this time around. For freight, the booster is only installed underneath the freight cars. The goal is not to make the bogie float but to equip each car with its own propulsion system. This drive system is highly capable, as Nevomo’s initial tests showed an acceleration of up to 1.5 m/s².

When forming a freight train, the cars can automatically connect themselves instead of being pushed over a hump yard to be sorted onto specific tracks at the freight terminal. In theory, shunting without pushing might not be necessary. That said, the first installation will only cover a track length of 750 meters, which limits its capabilities. Nonetheless, all parties plan to integrate this technology into bigger operations.

The installation in India is intended to demonstrate that the technology actually works. A drawback is that relatively simple freight cars must be retrofitted with rather complex systems. On the other hand, the advantage is that with distributed propulsion, freight trains can accelerate faster and potentially support a shunting locomotive.

This is not Nevomo’s only project. The company has already announced a collaboration with Captrain back in December 2024. Since then, the "Bremen Magnetic Shuttle" project has gone quiet, but there is still interest in Nevomo’s technology. A demonstration of a levitating bogie took place in 2023, and in the same year, a freight car was converted. Numerous tests have been conducted since then, and the following video shows these tests as well as pre-rendered scenarios of how the system works.